Using financial incentives to tackle health inequalities

Finance staff have a key role in ensuring that financial incentives are designed effectively and form part of a wider financial strategy to reduce health inequalities. Financial incentives should be considered as one tool of many, not to be used in isolation but as part of a wider change programme. They work best when they are simple, predictable, use a clear evidence base, and are designed to avoid the pitfalls. This briefing summarises the financial incentives that are already built in at a national level, and looks at opportunities for individual systems to use financial incentives at a local level. The briefing is published alongside a case study from Bolton.